The evidence is clear that obesity and greater abdominal fat increases the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer; obesity decreases the risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer. Yet the majority of research in the field has been conducted among Caucasians.

A study presented today suggests that higher BMI increases the risk of a more advanced cancer diagnosis among women of African ancestry.

The study by Elisa V. Bandera, a researcher at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, was a poster session today at the American Association for Cancer Research’ annual meeting.

“We know the effect of obesity on breast cancer among white women, there’s a wide literature on the topic,” said lead author Bandera, who is also an expert panelist on AICR’s Continuous Update Project. “In general, African Americans tend to have breast cancer at an earlier age and it is more advanced, we know something different is going on, we want to find out what.” Read more… “Study: Obesity Links to More Advanced Breast Cancer among African Americans”